Request for information not covered in any course

[johndiver999]

Question re. how much lift.

This older thread is interesting in the current context because it specifically pertains to surface lift.

I always feel more comfortable with having some excess lift capacity for emergencies. Drifting off in rough conditions and no air in the tank(s), is one situation where a snorkel and a bit of lift would be very advantageous. I've stopped carrying a snorkel lately, maybe I should rethink that.

I am often surprised how often when this topic arises, a diver is counseled to utilize the smallest functional wing capacity, presumably to minimize drag when deflated.

 

[Kharon]

The key is to remain calm, make sure you have good buoyancy at the surface, and can breath comfortably.

Remain calm - Wasn't insanely panicked but certainly was clearly not thinking.
Make sure you have good buoyancy at the surface - I will next time
Can breath comfortably - Not a chance

Added to my personal rules - If I can't make a very long surface swim in gear on snorkel do not splash.

 

[tridacna]

Question re. how much lift.

This older thread is interesting in the current context because it specifically pertains to surface lift.

I always feel more comfortable with having some excess lift capacity for emergencies. Drifting off in rough conditions and no air in the tank(s), is one situation where a snorkel and a bit of lift would be very advantageous. I've stopped carrying a snorkel lately, maybe I should rethink that.

I am often surprised how often when this topic arises, a diver is counseled to utilize the smallest functional wing capacity, presumably to minimize drag when deflated.

When drifting off in rough seas, you should immediately dump your weights giving your BC more than ample lift at the surface.

 

[Kharon]

Question re. how much lift.

This older thread is interesting in the current context because it specifically pertains to surface lift.

I always feel more comfortable with having some excess lift capacity for emergencies. Drifting off in rough conditions and no air in the tank(s), is one situation where a snorkel and a bit of lift would be very advantageous. I've stopped carrying a snorkel lately, maybe I should rethink that.

I am often surprised how often when this topic arises, a diver is counseled to utilize the smallest functional wing capacity, presumably to minimize drag when deflated.

Yeah. I moved to the harness/donut (smallest I could find) to minimize drag and for travel. It allowed me up to 25% more bottom time. Never considered hostile surface conditions and having to hang on the surface for an extended period waiting. Lessen learned. Back inflate (for me) sux on the surface, particularly in high choppy waves.

The snorkel vest is orally inflatable and has a dump valve. It really takes only a tiny bit of room in a suitcase and is unnoticable under the harness. It will provide additional buoyancy and redundancy. Same with two big SMB's. Very little additional baggage but redundancy.

I wonder why that wasn't/isn't part of the solo course. Redundant everything else. Some that could easily be done without - some that you will probably never ever need the first of. Seems to me that buoyancy redundancy is more important than some of the other stuff. Maybe that's just my recent experience talking. Still it's something I'm adding to my kit. Think I might sell my pony off and get one double the size too. Also adding a whistle to the kit. Diver Alert was useless when the main tank went dry. Whistle for redundancy.

 

[Kharon]

My thanks to everyone who made positive contributions. It has sparked a number of (for me) valuable insights and allowed me to re-think my gear, more fully define allowable conditions for my dives, and more. The experience itself certainly humbled me - something I definitly needed.

This isn't to say I've had enough. Keep thoughts and suggestions coming. I just wanted to let you know your help is appreciated.

 

[tursiops]

I pay for a trip out and a trip back. And your point...?

You are not self-sufficient. You need the boat to get out, you need the boat to get back, and you need a captain on the boat who is competent enough to be able to pick you up out of the water....not all dive are back to a mooring, right? Sometimes it is a live boat that has to get to you, and maneuver to get you out of the water,
So I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but you are not really self-sufficient. You NEED the boat and a competent captain.

 

[Hoyden]

Yeah. I moved to the harness/donut (smallest I could find) to minimize drag and for travel. It allowed me up to 25% more bottom time. Never considered hostile surface conditions and having to hang on the surface for an extended period waiting. Lessen learned. Back inflate (for me) sux on the surface, particularly in high choppy waves.

The snorkel vest is orally inflatable and has a dump valve. It really takes only a tiny bit of room in a suitcase and is unnoticable under the harness. It will provide additional buoyancy and redundancy. Same with two big SMB's. Very little additional baggage but redundancy.

I wonder why that wasn't/isn't part of the solo course. Redundant everything else. Some that could easily be done without - some that you will probably never ever need the first of. Seems to me that buoyancy redundancy is more important than some of the other stuff. Maybe that's just my recent experience talking. Still it's something I'm adding to my kit. Think I might sell my pony off and get one double the size too. Also adding a whistle to the kit. Diver Alert was useless when the main tank went dry. Whistle for redundancy.

I have taken classes that included training in how to deal with hostile surface conditions. In fact, in my normoxic trimix class, we were required to do a drifting ascent on one dive instead of coming up the line. We were doing training on the Oriskany, which meant that my buddy and I had a very long wait on the surface while everyone else got back on the boat. It got smaller and smaller as we drifted away. I really appreciated both my huge smb and my Halcyon raft (I didn't deploy the raft, but was happy to have it). Of all of my dive training experiences, this one was one of the most impactful. Both my buddy and I had done many drift dives, but this was different in that we were not live boating so there was a long surface wait. Also, while I am solo trained and consider myself very self-sufficient, I sure was happy that I had a buddy on the surface with me.

YMMV,

Jackie

 

[lowviz]

Sometimes it is a live boat that has to get to you, and maneuver to get you out of the water ...//...

I never dove a live boat and don't intend to. I just want a trip out, a line down, and a cap who can manage to stay tied-in. I'm not all wonked-out about total self-sufficiency, but I don't like counting on others for much of anything...

 

[Joneill]

(Edited to add: I see that you were on Little Sister so now I am really surprised.)

I'm surprised! When we were recently on LC one of their boats (Sea Dreamer) had a rudder problem and it sounded serious and it was taken out of service. I saw the Sea-Esta from Little Cayman Divers at the LCBR dock on a couple of days and I thought that they might be chartering it, so perhaps they are using a chartered boat without the siren system at CBBR during repairs? They do switch boats between the islands.

We have gone to either CBBR or LCBR every year for the last several years and I think that we have regularly had boat orientations that included the siren - but perhaps I am mistaken. We were on 3 different boats during our last trip to LC (Sea Dreamer, Island Dreamer, and Holiday Diver) - and I'm almost sure that we heard the siren demo'd on all 3 of them.

In fairness, I got there early on Saturday (6:45 AM flight) and was able to do an afternoon dive. Unfortunately, I proceeded to bruise my middle ear with an equalization issue on that dive that kept me side-lined for 4 days so I did miss the first day with our group on the boat. I'll ask my brother-in-law if they did go over the siren recall system when I was not there, The good news is that I was healed enought to try diving on Wednesday afternoon and had no issues - so I missed out on 12 dives on Brac but still got in 7 dives (and 6 more back on Grand Cayman).

 

[tursiops]

I never dove a live boat and don't intend to.

That means no diving in the Philippines, Indonesia, Maldives, Galapagos, Cozumel, many other parts of the Caribbean, or SE Florida. Too bad, there is some good diving out there.